Help Me Escape (rewrite)
by shadowtops99
Summary: A new project is undergoing in the deepest labs of a secret incorporation. A project so valuable it would save them from collapsing just as Tricell and Umbrella had done; so deadly that perhaps not even they could fully contain the beast that they are to birth. As Everylyn June looks for a way out of this madness, she dives deeper into secrets that should never be unearthed.
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note:_**

**_Hello readers! I know I have been gone for a while now due to lack of internet access and being banned from here by my guardian for an unknown reason. However I am back for the time being until further notice. Please note that, yes, I already do have a fanfic with the same title and plot. However, this is a rewrite. Things will be further more improved among the terms of spelling, grammar, and plot line events. I want to thank Johnclaw Dragonhelm for his co-author work for the original Help Me Escape, and for his support for the rewrite. Never leave a friend hanging~_**

**_-ST_**

_**Prologue**_

"We are well aware of the demands for this project, Sir," A doctor stood behind his desk, facing a projected holographic screen of his boss- who was not easily seen as he stood in the shadows. "However, neither Umbrella nor Tricell has the required funds for such a project that may be doomed to fail. We have no sponsors, no money, and no hosts. It will not be easy creating such a new virus. It is almost impossible." There was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air like a haunting noose. "Sir?"

"Didn't you have a previous experiment concerning this?"

"Yes. The G-Virus. However, much of our work was lost due to that rookie cop many years ago, and it can only reproduce through its own blood relatives, or any other organism that shares the same genetic DNA. Not something we want if we were to have a B.O.W of mass reproduction, is it?"

"So you still have samples?"

"Of course, Sir."

"Then run some tests. Enhance it if you must. Splice it. Do whatever it takes to make the project successful. This could save your asses out on the black market."

"But Sir, the sponsors?"

"You have enough sponsors! This shit is in high demand, and if you don't pull it through, you'll be dancing with the Cerberus. Here, let's play nice. You'll be head of the GRP; Genetrix-R Project. I'll be in charge of the development of Genetrix-R."

"So does that mean you'll be visiting the labs here, Sir?"

"Of course. Don't want to make my little friends lonely now." There was a dark chuckle that played from the man's unseen lips.

"Of course not, Sir. However we need to gather hosts-"

"I have the perfect one in mind. Don't worry about it." Another sinister chuckle.

"Very well. We shall get started on the project immediately by observing previous viruses and experimenting from there. We'll send you any data we find, in turn for the data of the host."

"Consider it done. Meeting dismissed!" The lights flashed on, making the projected holographic screen disappear. Scientists, including Dr. Burrs, began rising from their seats. They were off to try to create a monstrosity too valuable for the Black Market; too valuable, even, to let the knowledge leak even to Tricell about their findings. Dr. Burrs shrugged on his coat and pushed in his chair. "Oh, and Dr. Burrs," The scientist looked up, despite nothing being projected on the walls. "Don't disappoint me."


	2. Chapter One

_**CHAPTER ONE**_

Her eyes flashed open, revealing two beautiful orbs of icy blue. She stared at nothing but a blank light that shone down on her. She felt the warmth of the light on her face bathing her in kisses that reminded her of embraces that she had often received from the sun. She let herself bask in its glorious feeling, letting the rest of her body grow cold and achingly numb and yearning for a good stretch or two. Sighing, she felt content. Happy. Well rested.

It was then that she decided to sit up. Though it had caused her to feel dizzy, nothing could shake the feeling that a good rest brought. Well, it felt like she had rested for a good long year! Yawning and cracking her neck, she stood up, placing her bare feet on the spotless marble white floors. It was then did she notice her surroundings, and it was then that reality started to be reeled in.

The room was a blank white all around. The only objects were a table that was hooked up to many machines, wires, and tubes, and a long stretch of mirror on the wall in front of her. She also noticed that all she was wearing was a patient's gown, also white and plain like the rest of the room. She began to think that she had just woken from a coma, being taken to a hospital previously due to it. But she had seen hospital rooms before, yes? Surely they do not isolate people who are in comas. At least, not exactly like this.

There was a door on one side of the room with a slot for swiping cards. She hurriedly walked to it, or more or less limped. She couldn't use her legs correctly for some reason. She stumbled like a young child who had just learned how to walk. How long was she in this coma? A year? Finally making it over to the door, she leaned up against it heavily. She banged on the door a few times; the door sounding solid and firm. Grunting, she examined her raised arms. On her forearms, there were puncture wounds set in a 7-dot circular pattern, with the seventh dot being in the middle. Now how did she get this?

The woman then stumbled up to the mirror at the side of the room. Cupping her hands, she tried to peer through it, but she had no luck. It was a two-way mirror, with the see through side obviously on the opposite of her. She tried slamming her fists against the glass and shouting, trying to earn the attention of the people behind it. Still without any sign that anything was going to change, she just began to stare at her own reflection.

She had long hair that was the color of an angel's golden halo; it fell upon her shoulders in thick locks and waves. Her eyes, as previously mentioned, was an icy blue so bright that you could easily pinpoint them in the dark. Her skin, though rosy in the cheeks, was a pale blanket to a young slender face that housed high cheekbones. She looked beautifully astounding, as well as astoundingly confused. Lifting up her upper lip and opening her mouth, she found her teeth to be razor sharp pearls. All of them. Swiping her tongue over the tips of them, she merely flinched at the sharpness of them. Tilting her head to the side, she noticed that on both sides of her neck were three medium-small sized slits. That physical trait in particular scared her more than the other traits. Was she a monster? Nonsense. There were no such things as monsters.

She slammed on the glass a few more times, but nothing seemed to be changing. She let out a growl of frustration after finding herself clawing at the glass and leaving thick scratch marks on the mirror. Looking down at her hands, she found that she now had claws. Actual claws. Freaking out like a mad woman, this had encouraged her more to thrash upon the glass, attacking it like she actually was a monster. After a moment or two though, she soon tired herself out. This was getting her nowhere and she knew it.

A few hours had passed, but it had seemed like months to her. The woman tried screaming out, tried getting the staff's attention by dancing in front of the camera, and tried everything. _There has to be a way out,_ she thought. Though there were at times, within this hour, where she would sit down and contemplate about herself. Why, she didn't even know her own name. Staring at her clawed hands, she tried to think about what had happened to her before she got here. Who was she? Why was she here? This wasn't exactly a coma, was it? Or perhaps she was still in one, and this was only just a dream? After all, she had no way of telling when it's day and when it's night.

She finally grew drowsy after a good half hour's painful straining of failed remembrance. Yawning, she closed her eyes. It was then that she got lost in a world of blues, violets, greens, reds, yellows, oranges, and white. It was an odd world. She felt like she could see all around her, a complete 360 degree circle with her being the center point of that said circle. She moved around in this world, a world that -despite the color differences- was the exact same as the room in her reality. She got up and began aimlessly wondering around the large and rather empty room. Nothing seemed to change. However, upon nearing the mirror did she notice that something was different. The mirror was no longer there, but another room full of electronic equipment, TVs, and even a warm mug of liquid. Opening her eyes, she found that the mirror was still there. _What an odd dream,_ she thought. Closing her eyes again, the colorful visions returned. Reopening her eyes, she growled in anger. _This isn't a dream. I'm still awake. But why can I see when I close my eyes?_

Turning around, she realized that the only way out was to break this mirror and escape into the room on the other side. But what could she use to break the damned glass with? Her fists and claws did nothing but rattle the mirror, and didn't damage it in anyway. There had to be something. Just _something_. Her icy orbs swiped over the table. It didn't appear to be bolted and screwed into the floor. Taking long and graceful strides, she reached the piece of furniture with ease, now getting accustomed to walking after all this time. Testing her arms, she found that she could lift it up. It felt awkward to be able to lift something so big and supposedly heavy… yet it was just as easy as lifting a paper clip. Looking over her shoulder at the mirror, she strode backwards and picked up speed. She then hoisted the table over her shoulder and threw it into the mirror. There was a loud _crack,_ and a spider web design made an appearance on the glass. The girl grinned approvingly before hoisting the table back up again and slamming it into the spider web design. The cracks became bigger and bigger, and on her fourth heave, the glass shattered to a million shards that littered around her bare feet. She set the table down in front of her and used it as a bridge to get to the room on the other side.

This room looked exactly like the one she saw with the colorful vision. _That's because it is,_ she thought warily. Looking around, she saw that all the surveillance equipment was all where it had been. The only difference in the room now was that it was carpeted with broken glass, fallen papers, and a spilled coffee mug. As she finished climbing into the room and landed on a safe non-glassy spot, she gave another sweep around the room.

Her eyes lingered on a familiar photograph, however.

Bending down, she picked up one of the papers that had flew off the desk when she broke the mirror. On the document there was a small photograph of her in a uniform clipped at the top. She stared at it, then dropped the paper in a sudden shock as recollection flooded through her.

_**"Everlyn June, twenty years old and the new S.T.A.R.S rookie officer," said a mock voice. "Why her?"**_

_**"I feel that she would be perfect for the task," replied another.**_

_**"Intuition does not belong in the fields of science, Mr. Wesker." growled the first voice. "We need good reasoning behind her selection!"**_

_**There was a moment of silence. The victim, Everlyn, had barely enough of a conscious to peek open an eye. She tried to focus in on the two talking, but had found there words to be nothing but nonsense. Who was Everlyn? Was that, perhaps, her? The name felt familiar on a personal level.**_

_**"What other facts do you need that you cannot find yourself?" The second voice, Mr. Wesker, began drumming his fingers on a nearby machine. The scowl on his face scared everyone around him. "She is the first test subject for the Genetrix-R Project. What facts can you not get from her already?"**_

_**"Her records-"**_

_**"An orphan. Never adopted. Enrolled in college and Ackley University at a young age. Graduated and became an officer at the Raccoon City Police Department, and soon became the youngest officer ever to make it into the S.T.A.R.S program. Of course she has no criminal record of any sort."**_

_**There was another moment of silence. Then, the person that Mr. Wesker was talking to looked down at her as if expectantly He looked like a doctor you would find at a little kid's medical office, with his dark polka dotted scrubs Or, was Everlyn just seeing spots before her eyes?. "If she isn't the right one for this project," warned the funny looking doctor. "You've cost this corporation a lot of time and money."**_

_**"This project will either make us, or break us," Mr. Wesker said gruffly. Everlyn then watched him recede out of her vision. "Or… it'll kill you. And little Ever here will make sure of that." He then chuckled darkly, making it the last thing that Everlyn could remember before the world had faded to black.**_

The girl stood at an angle, frozen, her eyes glued to the picture. She knew that was her. She knew from that little bit of memory that it was her. Everlyn June… what a pretty name. Taking a step back, she found herself backing up into the door. The cool metal felt like ice against her skin as she tried to comprehend what the words said in the flashback meant. Genetrix-R Project? What was S.T.A.R.S, even? Raccoon City must have been, of course, a city- but where was its exact whereabouts?

Her attention then snapped to a small screen on the left side of the room. Movement blasted upon it like a live action film. Taking a closer look and squinting her eyes, she saw that it must've been a horror film. This weird creature… some… skinless fleshy creature… was terrorizing some poor scientists. If the TV gave off sound, Everlyn wouldn't doubt that she would be hearing screams of agonizing pain and torture as the creature ripped apart their flesh and penetrated them with its… tongue? She watched as it picked a scientists up with the long piece of muscle and through him against the ground, pouncing on him and tearing away at his chest. When all the victims were killed and drained of their blood, she watched as it licked the red essence –dark grey on the screen- from its nonexistent lips before using its long finger-like claws to scale the walls and ceiling. Everlyn found herself catching and holding her breath as it crawled towards the camera, opening its fowl mouth and exposing its bloody tongue. The next thing that the monitor showed… was a hazy black-white-and-grey snow. No channel reception.

Everylyn blinked at what she just witnessed. The majority of her mind told her that it was just a horror movie that the security guards and left in the cassette player. However, the rest of her screamed danger; that it was completely 100% real, and that she needed to either stay here in the safety of the large and plain white room of which she had just escaped, or go and seek help immediately. She felt absolutely mortified. Her feet were planted on the spot to the floor by fear and sheer terror. However, after a couple minutes of recovering from her shock, she decided that it would be best to get a move on. She was just overreacting. No such thing can exist.

But then again… look at her and what she has become. Shaking her head, Everlyn didn't want to dwell on that idea. If anything, this was just a dream. Just a really weird, confusing, and morbid dream. Everlyn turned around and opened the door to the outside.

Just a dream.

She took a step forward into the cold, echoing hallways of the hospital.

Just a dream.

She immediately felt lost.

Just a dream.

Her confusion, as she wondered around aimlessly, soon turned into that of anger and frustration.

Just a dream.

A deep throbbing pain pounded at her neck. She swore she could have felt the slits moving rapidly like fish gills.

Just a dream.

She panted heavily the further she went from the room. She felt so dehydrated. So irritated. Angry. She leaned against the wall, letting out snarls and growls that shouldn't have belonged to her. She felt so thirsty. She felt so hungry. Her entire body began to burn and ache.

Just a dream.

She felt something slither in her arms, sliding like rope against her veins. She felt her bones twist and pop and shift inside of her. She immediately obtained a migraine as she lurched over, holding her stomach. She clenched her eyes shut. The world then plunged into limited color that was throbbing and flashing in beat and rhythm to her racing heart. She began dry heaving since she had absolutely nothing in her stomach. She felt her limbs lengthening, the pains in her body rowing harsher. Opening her eyes into slits, she saw her claws grow longer. She felt her teeth sharpen as her jaw cracked and popped. She growled some more, hissing, and as she collapsed on the ground with a shrill shriek, Everlyn realized something.

This wasn't a dream.


	3. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

Everlyn laid there, writhing and hissing in pain. It felt as if pressure was building up inside of her. Pressure in her chest, pressure in her stomach, pressure in her brain! She felt confined under so much pain. She could barely breathe. She felt so light headed. Everything before her flashed ever so rapidly to where everything was either a dull black or a blinding white, or something in between, even. Her veins burned. Every single one of her veins felt like they were on fire. She had never felt as scared, hungry, angry, and confused as she does now. What exactly was this madness if it wasn't a dream?

Then, all the pain subsided or dulled. It became either invisible, or bearable. Everlyn could see again. She could breathe again. The pressure in her body faded, and she slowly began to regain feeling through her numbness. She curled up in a fetal position tired and exhausted from the random pained attack. She had never experienced anything like that before- from what she could remember at least, which was in fact very little.

She closed her eyes as she panted, out of breath. The colorful world that hid behind her eyelids returned to normal as well; there were no more flashes and throbs of dimness or brightness. For some reason, being enveloped in this weird colorful world of heat signatures comforted her. There was something about being able to see exactly everything around you and then some that was assuring to her. She slowly felt herself drifting off into sleep, exhaustion wining her secret inner battle that she was not even aware that she had been fighting. Sleep. She wanted –and needed- sleep.

But then she saw it. A slick and quick movement, almost a blur of red, yellow, orange, and white. It was almost barely noticeable as it raced to the nook near her, hiding itself from view. Everlyn decided after a few minutes that she would pay little mind to it, though even a fool could realize that her body became tenser and alert.

But then she saw it again, slowly creeping out of the nook that it had hid itself in. It had a thin, slender body, and was muscular despite its size. She couldn't make out much of its details until she opened her eyes and slowly turned her head around to get a better look, of which her eyes immediately widened in fear and shock.

It looked to be about the same creature that she had seen in that one video footage back at the surveillance room. Though up close and personal, it definitely appeared more deadly than what it did before. Its fleshless body glistened under the hallway lights, revealing the coats of blood that were splattered against its firm muscles. Its claws were stained a deep crimson scarlet and made clicking sounds as it crawled ever so slowly across the cold marble floor. She could hear its rattling breath loud and clear, as if it were the breath of a dying old man. The brain, large and glossy, protruded from the top of its head. The little two slits on its face widened occasionally as it sniffed out its surroundings –which Everlyn came to the conclusion that it had little to no sense of smell, or else it would've already scented her by now. Occasionally a long pink tendril would snake out of its mouth, barbed with razor sharp ridges that could no doubt easily saw a man's torso in half. It had no eyes, which the girl was very much grateful for. Seeing her trembling and fearful expression in glossy slit-pupil eyes was one of the last things she wanted before dying.

But even as it neared her, it didn't pay any attention to her. She couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as it prowled past her. Slowly, as to not alert the creature, she stood up. She then began backing away, but her legs and knees felt weak and shaky just as they did when she had first woken up on that table. Back and back she went, until she felt like that she was in a safe enough distance to run. When she had turned around, however, her weak knees gave out, letting her collapse on the hard marble floor once again with a loud _smack_ that echoed through the halls. "Damn it!" she hissed to herself. However she froze when she no longer heard the clicks of the creature's long claws on the floor. Looking back over her shoulder, she found that the monster was no longer there. But where could it have gone?

She twitched when she heard a gurgled chuckling noise that sent shivers down her spine. She slowly rose her head up to the ceiling, her gaze fixed upon the monstrosity before her. She swallowed a lump in her throat at the sight of the long barbed tongue that slowly slithered out of its mouth, its head pointed directly down at her. She flinched as the saliva dripped off of its lengthy mouth muscle and onto her shoulder. She let out whimpers, awfully loud ones, as she began to scuttle and crab walk and scoot her way out of its range—her palms slapping against the floors.

The creature hissed again before taking a powerful leap off of the ceiling, cornering her in a matter of seconds. Everlyn let out a panicked yelped as she backed up against the wall, her breathing rapid and heavy. But even cornered, she couldn't help but admire the display of strength that this creature showed. Despite being afraid so much that she could actually smell her own fear, she felt more intrigued and curious of this creature than she should have been. What was it?

She snapped out of her thoughts as it opened its lipless mouth, letting out a quiet and gurgled squeal. She narrowed her eyes, seeming to focus on the beast that was now before her. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. She felt something in her change. She felt relatively calm now as was opposed of before. She saw the monster ready for an attack, a series of reds, oranges, yellows, and whites moving so slowly, quietly, almost stealthily despite it skulking right in front of her.

Then its tongue shot out.

She swerved to the side in time, the tongue just barely nicking her ear. She then pushed at the creature, surprised at her display of confidence and strength as the monster was moved back. It let out a shrill screech, as if it was, too, surprised to be some-what bested by a human. _But I'm not a human, am I?_ she thought as she glanced down at her forming claws.

Out of the small time she had, she quickly got to her feet and dashed off. She heard the monster give chase, growling and snarling as it began to scale the walls like a gecko up a tree. She was a speedy girl, somehow managing to outrun the beast. Though it would've been a foolish decisions to do so, she looked back over her shoulder at her pursuer.

Her pursuer, however, was no longer there. Narrowing her eyes, she slowed to a halt. There was no way that she could have eluded the creature that quickly. Glancing around in front of her, at the walls and ceiling above her, she saw no trace of the bloody thing. She tensed, however, when she heard its ragged breathing behind her. Closing her eyes, she witnessed it slowly declining head-first down the closed doorway, stalking her like a cat and a mouse. Only instead of pouncing, it snaked its long tongue out, letting it creep ever so slowly towards her, being careful of her movement. Intelligent move, if only she was oblivious to her surroundings.

But she didn't move in time, however, as the slow movement turned into that of a sudden jerk, like a bullet. It wrapped around her neck, closing her heat vision and making her yell out in pain as the barbed muscle pressed into her skin. It then pulled her back, tightening the tongue around her to where she could barely breathe once again. She was being strangled! She thrashed and struggled against its hold, but it only made the situation worse. The barbs had cut deeper into her flesh, easily drawing blood and making it dribble and stream down her throat. She felt its claws grip at her arms and shoulders, leaving dark and dirty blood marks on her pale skin. She hissed, another foolish move as it wasted the little breath she had managed to obtain.

Something wriggled in front of her. Something shiny, moist, and ended in a sharp point. It was the tip of the monster's tongue. It danced wildly in front of her like an untamed tentacle. Then it dabbed at the blood that welled from her wounds; it was a sponge to her scarlet red essence. She narrowed her eyes, her mind clouded with pain. But a single word managed to flow through. _Blood._

When the tongue writhed back in front of her face, she lurched forward as best as she could, which strangled herself more in the process, to bite at the tip of the wet muscle. Adrenaline surged through her as she heard the pained screech of the monster that held her. Satisfaction prodded at her side as her fangs sank into the tongue and the monster's own blood stained her mouth. It immediately let go of her when it came to the point where the possibility of sawing off its tongue was high. She landed on the cold floor and scuttled as fast as she could to the other side of the hall.

She ran, and this time Everlyn could hear the monster approach heavily behind her. If she faltered now, she would be the creature's next meal. She cursed her legs. _Why couldn't you work this well the first time?!_

A closed door was up ahead. If Everlyn could just make a sharp turn, then maybe she could gain some more ground if the monster were to collide with it. She pelted on as fast as she could will herself to go. She could feel the warmth of the monster's tongue mere inches from her. She had to make it…

Ten meters.

Seven.

Four.

Almost there.

One.

Turn!

She made a sharp cut to the left. She heard the skidding of claws, and held her breath as the monster let out a yelp, followed by a sickening crunch.

She carried on around a few more corners, down more corridors, and through a few rooms. However, she came into a dead end when she entered a room. Glancing around wildly, she sought for a place to hide. Everlyn then rushed to a giant wooden cabinet. Trying the doors, jarring them over and over again, she had no luck trying to pry them open. She snarled, bashing her fist against the doors. Where else could she-

The sound of an entire window shattering alerted her as she whirled around with wide eyes. The monster had jumped in recklessly, its blind form roaring and hissing into the empty air. It neared her threateningly, yet also cautiously as Everlyn took note of. It seemed that this monster was human enough to learn from its mistakes. Everlyn couldn't help but feel challenged rather than threatened.

She also couldn't help but feel that she was in control, like an Alpha in a pack of wolves. When she hissed, the monster receded hissing back, but Everlyn had noticed the submissiveness in its hiss. Even so, her body was still poised and ready for an attack.

But neither of them moved. Not one made a sound. After what seemed like an hour, Everlyn began to think that it had forgotten that she was there, and the blind beast was just resting. If it couldn't hear her, then perhaps she was safe. But she knew better than to think that. She knew better than to let her guard down. But she needed out of here- she needed to escape its cold, deadly, non-existent gaze. Both the suspense and the yearning to escape made her body ache, but still neither of them moved a muscle. Not a twitch of a finger. Not a long razor tongue. Not even a follicle of hair.

_I need to do something or else I'll be crow food!_

She took a step forward. Her bare foot slapped against the floor, which whirred the monster awake and alert to its senses. It leaped at her like a giant frog, slamming her back against the closet. The piece of furniture fell over and glass contents shattered inside. Everlyn fell back over the closet, struggling to push the monster off of her just as she did before. But the creature seemed unwilling to be brushed off so easily. It kept coming at her, snapping its jaws and hissing venomously. It then lurched forward, braking through her arm barrier, and sank its fangs into her already injured neck.

Everlyn screamed in agony. This pain was nothing compared to anything that she had ever felt before- she was almost certain. She felt her blood blast from her wounds and flood into the monster's mouth. Once again she tried pushing the monster away, but its powerful jaw was clamped on tightly. "Let go!" she screamed. She could have sworn the monster obeyed just a sliver by loosening its grip, but it helped none at all.

Her eyes then flicked down to a large shiny piece of glass shard. The edges were rigid and sharp. She weakly reached for it, her strength quickly being drained by the monster's bite. Her fingertips brushed against its cool and smooth surface. She grunted, tears streaming down her face, as she tried to lean forward to grab it. This had caused the monster to slam its clawed hand down on her chest. Luckily, though, she managed to grab a hold of the shard and raised her bloody arm and brought it down upon the monster's brain. The glass shard easily penetrated the glossy grey organ. Blood splashed from it and pattered to the floor.

The monster reeled in pain, letting Everlyn have the chance to gasp for breath and crawl herself a few feet away. She watched with clouded vision as the monster tried desperately to rid the shard, throwing its arms up as if doubling over in pain from a massive migraine. Everlyn managed to smile weakly to herself. It probably did have a migraine now thanks to her.

Gunshots sounded, making the girl jump every time it went off. Three total. One shot the monster in the shoulder. One grazed its skinless cheek. And one plummeted straight through its brain making brain matter and blood spray up against the wall. The creature fell down dead in a matter of seconds screaming and writhing until it eventually died.

A pair of shiny black boots crunched over the broken glass as they stepped into the defiled room. Everlyn couldn't make herself raise her gaze up any higher than the boots. Her body wouldn't allow her. It was too much work and too much of a hassle that would completely gutter her of her energy. She watched as the boots neared her, and a gloved hand came into view.

"It's alright," a light voice hushed her. "Rest now. I'll take care of you."

She did not need to be told twice. Her eyelids quickly shut, encasing her in darkness. She could not see the vibrant world of heat like she could before. She felt her breathing slow, each fading breath bringing in cold sharp air that stung her lungs and the back of her throat. But she didn't care. She was lucky enough to still be alive right now. Everlyn slowly began to lose consciousness though. She heard her heart roar in her ears, a ticking rhythm of Death's song. How sweet the song—a guide to ending this confusing, painful and debauched nightmare. The last thing that flashed through her conscious mind was the blood stained floor and the battered body of the monster that she had just fought. She remembered the taste of its blood warming her lips and blessing her taste buds as she bit its tongue. A small smile twitched her lips at the satisfaction that she still felt even now.

And then she went to sleep.


	4. Chapter Three

_**Chapter Three**_

"_**Why can't I come, too?" She huffed and crossed her arms stubbornly. "Last I recall, Sir, I was a member of the S.T.A.R.S team, too."**_

_** "You're too inexperienced. Best to keep you filing paper work."**_

_** "Well, what about Rebecca? She's just as much of a rookie as I am!"**_

_** "No. There is a difference between you two. Rebecca is a rookie. You are a noob." Her captain didn't even seem to mull the possibility of her tagging along. He seemed so set on his answer, as if he had a purpose for not including her.**_

_** It was the day prior to the Bravo Team's expedition to the Umbrella Corps' mansion up in the Arklay Mountains. A distress call of some kind... They were supposed to investigate it. The S.T.A.R.S members were to depart via helicopter tomorrow, however, Everlyn was not invited apparently. This no doubt irritated her. She was going to be the only member left back at the office. She suppose it was an important role to fulfill. Who else was going to file all the paper work and answer the calls? Who else were they supposed to reach contact with if no one was at the office? But Everlyn couldn't help but think there was something more to this trip to the Arklay Mansion, an opinion that excited her and made her want to go even more.**_

_** "Then let me learn from this experience, Wesker," Everlyn treaded on more carefully now. "It is best to learn as you go, isn't it? Surely I won't be able to better my skills if I am cooped up in the office sorting papers and documents into plastic bins? Going on this investigation will help me earn experience in the field. And, after all, you DID convince them to get me the cop job anyway. I can't just be lazing around doing nothing now that I'm onto something. It'll look bad on both me AND you."**_

_** She watched him set his jaw. His gaze—though hidden behind his black Gucci sunglasses—lingered upon her, burning and drilling into her skull. But other than that and the jaw setting, she couldn't read the expression on his face. He gave off no emotion. Mr. Albert Wesker then leaned back in his desk chair and sighed, running and combing his fingers through his slick dark blond hair—an almost brown color at this time of year. He then leaned back onto his desk, looking at her and lacing his hands; his eyebrows were pulled together.**_

_** "Ever," he said in a stern voice. "You know better than to question the commands of your superiors."**_

_** At this, Everlyn's heart sank deeper. He hadn't changed his mind in the slightest.**_

_** "I have my reasons for not placing you in my formations and not including you on this expedition. Keep in mind June that you are still a part of this investigation, but you are not permitted to tag along. Since you are skilled with computers and computer technology communications, you will stay here and do just that; you will be the receiver of our information and the giver. Anything you find you will radio it to me. Understood?"**_

_** Everlyn gave him a long and hard look before replying stiffly, "Understood, Captain."**_

_** "Good." He straightened the stack of papers on his desk, and without looking at her he added, "Now be a good girl and fetch me a cup of coffee, will you?"**_

_** "Yes, Sir." She then quickly stepped out of the office, nearly knocking into Jill Valentine as she hastily made her way to the break room.**_

_** The last thing she remembered was hearing about a mass viral outbreak and several S.T.A.R.S member deaths – all starting from the exact mansion of which she had pleaded a day or two before to accompany them in.**_

Questions ran through her mind as her unconscious gradually turned into that of the waking conscious. Those people… where were they now? What exactly had happened to them? A mass viral outbreak… something kept whacking her brain with a sludge hammer, desperate to make her remember the severity of it all. What happened?! And the name Wesker—she recalled it also being mentioned in her last memory. Who is, or was, that man? Why does he seem so familiar?

"Hey Miss, are you awake?"

She flinched at those words. So unexpected and different compared to her silence and the monstrous screams that she had already grown accustomed to. Her eyes sluggishly flickered open. She seemed to be lost at first. She had no recollection of where she was, or what was around her. It all seemed too alien. The blank white ceiling, the white walls that had dark crimson splatters all over them, the shiny marble floors; they all seemed distant, hazy, and were what it seemed to be uncharted territory.

"Miss?"

Everlyn groggily turned her head and easily pinpointed the source of the voice. It wasn't a deep voice, nor was it too soft or high of a pitch. It was more like a standard male voice. A standard young male voice. And it belonged to a young man with messy ginger hair and a slight beginning of a chin full of stubble. His face was thin, yet full; his eyes were a focused brown that showed little to no emotion. He had a broad build clothed with a brown leather bomber's jacket with a black undershirt. Leather straps of ammunition and gun belts decorated his waist and middle torso, though most of the holsters on his belts were empty set aside for the two handgun pistols that rested against his hips, and a few grenades. Lights from the overhead ceiling panels were reflected off of his black boots. Over all he reminded her of a Scottish spy or federal government agent.

"Miss?" he repeated. "Are you alright?"

And for some unknown reason, the girl began to laugh. This action surprised the man a bit, but she figured he'd witnessed worse things before.

"Perhaps you need some more rest-"

Her laughter then quickly morphed into an expression of anger, and she quickly sat up and lunged at the ginger haired man. She hissed and bared her fangs as she reached toward him with outstretched hands, managing to catch a hold of his leg. The man jumped, before kicking her arms away and drawing one of his guns. Everlyn slowly stood up, hissing and glaring at the man who was now several feet away in front of her. His gun did not falter from its aim not even once.

"Back off! I'm warning you!"

Everlyn narrowed her eyes. Her mind swam with so many thoughts and questions. Who is this man? Is he a threat? Is he food? Where is she? She grunted and bowed her head, clenching her hair and doubling over whining. She felt so sick. Her body ached. Her stomach twisted from hunger and thirst. When the man took a step forward she hissed at him again before falling to her hands and knees. Then she began sobbing uncontrollably as she collapsed and curled up yet again in the fetal position.

"Hush now, Lass, before you attract unwanted attention!"

Everlyn immediately stopped her whimpering, though it did not stop the tears from streaming down her face.

"Yes, yes. Now ye ain't so bad, Lassie. Bit of a scarer you are, yes."

She managed a small chuckle, "You're horrible at the accent."

"Eh. Why not just play it off while I can, hmm?" The man dropped the accent and the font. He bent down next to her again and pushed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear, ignoring the fact that it was matted with blood.

"Why didn't you shoot me?"

"Not my job," he shrugged. "Not when rumors of a cure are about. You don't seem too far gone."

"But I'm still one of them…."

"Aren't we all?" The man smiled at her before offering his hand. "Up?"

"No." Everlyn shook her head, wondering why he was showing her so much kindness. "What is your job anyway," she asked him. "If it's not to shoot me?"

"I'm one of the few down here who is to collect the Class B survivors."

"Class B?"

"Yeah. The slight to low mild infected, such as people who just recently obtained the virus through their system and people like you –infected, but still has humanity in them, enough to last us a while until the cure can be injected into you."

"Cure…" Everlyn narrowed her eyes. "A cure to what?"

"You." The man checked the number of bullets in his pistol. "Rumors have it that they created an anti-virus fluid. Inject it into yourself and you'll be less likely to turn more into those freaks, and maybe devolve. Who knows?"

"But it's only a rumor…."

"It has to be something if they're sending us out here to pick your little scum asses up."

Everlyn slowly sat up, a hand still attached to her head. Now that her mood swing and adrenaline had disappeared, she doubt that if she were to jump herself up like she did before that she would be able to do it without passing out again. "So… what I am is a virus?"

"A product of one, yes." After checking the bullets in his other pistol, he looked up at her through his long eyelashes. "However noting the characteristics of your infection, I say I'm handling more than just a Class B victim."

"You're not making any sense."

"A corporation named Umbrella went about messing with genetic research making bio organic weaponry and all kinds of nasty show. They created what was called the T-Virus, which lead to an outbreak up in the Arklay that eventually lead to a much more massive outbreak in a place called Raccoon City. Then the making of the G-Virus happened, which was a slight variation of the former used for reproductive purposes. However, the city was quarantined and destroyed, as well as any traces of Umbrella. Umbrella had died with the awful place. However a few years later Tricell was recognized. It, too, soon fell. Now you have secret corporations around the globe trying to pick up where the two left off. I'm just from one of the many militia and organizations who's on the move to end this mayhem and rescue any innocents from further harm." He then let out a sigh, "You're welcome."

She noticed a strange insignia on his bomber jacket sleeve.

"I'm also part of a rebels group," he added hastily. He stood up and cracked his neck, "Anyway, Missy, I have to get a move on. So you can either come with me and have a chance of living a survival horror, or you can stay here and get killed or become one of them circus freaks. Your choice, darling. I'm done wasting my time here. You're lucky I stayed long enough to watch over your sleeping beauty. I'm behind schedule now, thank you."

Everlyn hissed before making an attempt to stand, "Do I at least get the pleasure of knowing your name before I go off and join hands with a stranger?"

"Just call me Ocelot."

"Ocelot?"

He then untucked a pair of dog tags that were hidden under his shirt. The name "Ocelot" was engraved with bold lettering. He pointed to it before tucking the dog tags back under the clothing. "Now who may you be, Miss?

"Everly-" She then cut herself off. Introducing herself entirely as Everlyn just didn't seem right with her. Shaking her head, she sighed, "Just call me Ever."

"Ever?"

"Yeah," she spread her clawed hands apart. "Ever."

* * *

><p>"So, mind telling me a bit about yourself?" Ocelot grunted as he helped carry Ever down the hall. She was having trouble walking, and had her arm draped around Ocelot's shoulders while his was wrapped around her waist, his other hand holding her draped wrist. He kept glancing down at her. She seemed fragile and vulnerable at this point. He wondered what exactly the scientists here had in store for her. He would rather not know, actually.<p>

"Can't," she rasped, shaking her head. "Can't remember."

"Hm. Nothing at all? No nationality? No age? No nothing?"

"I barely know my own name."

"Fair enough," Ocelot said gruffly. "Though from the looks of it, I'd say you're from some sunny place. You definitely got some sunburn to ya."

Sunburn? Ever looked down at her arms and legs. They were well on the red side. Almost a feint blood red, too, as if her entire body was irritated, but more vivid and brighter. It was a rather big contrast to her pale skin tone prior to her passing out. "I doubt it," she said finally. "I think I'm from Raccoon City…."

"One of the few survivors, then," Ocelot raised a brow as he glanced around a corner to see if it was safe. "Well then I don't know whether to congratulate you for pulling whatever strings you had to do to make it out, or feel sorry for you for being that lucky."

"That bad, huh?"

"A virus that made people into zombies, released some massive monsters that one could only think was birthed from nightmares, and caused the end of the world as we knew it? Yeah. I'd say it's pretty bad. I mean look at you. You already have claws and fangs. That's not even step one of what they're going to do to you." Ocelot leaned her against the wall as his shoulder began aching. He held her up gently, though firmly. His fingers dug into her shoulder with a hostile pressure in case she turned on him unexpectedly.

"Not even step one…" she repeated. "Then why keep me alive if I am only going to get worse? Cure or not you're in great danger."

"I'm willing to die a martyr," Ocelot sniffed. "Besides, I can easily put a silver bullet through that rotting brain of yours."

"Won't it be hard to do that if you're forming bonds with the survivors?"

"I'm not forming bonds, especially with the likes of you all. I'm trained not to do that sort of thing, chica. Whatever friendship you think we have or are about to form is either a fluke or a dud."

Ever narrowed her eyes, obviously offended by this. "Then why be so nice to me, or at least sarcastically nice?"

"Kindness pays, darling." Ocelot sighed as he glanced at his watch. "The more you're left like this, the more unstable you become. It's best to please the victim rather than have them up your ass tearing you to shreds, am I right?"

"This is ridiculous. Why even go through this hassle at all?"

"As I said. They want Class A through Class D survivors to test the anti-virus on. Plus it brings me a pretty paycheck."

"Lovely to know that my savior is a selfish prick."

"Hey, I didn't have to sign up for this, darling." Ocelot turned his gaze upon her, looking into her eyes. "Be thankful that my society is considerate enough to waste time and money on you. They just don't want another outbreak like the one in Raccoon City."

Ever matched his tough gaze, blink for blink. "Aren't you risking the possibility of an outbreak by rescuing us?"

"No, because they aren't far from here. Still within the general facility. Still underground."

"We're underground?!" Ever's eyes widened as she looked from side to side. It looked like a normal network maze of hallways and experimental accommodations. If one could ever look normal. She figured it would make sense to have a secret bio organic genetic research facility underground—both literally and metaphorically— to avoid the officials and go about their business. There's more privacy that way. Even so, she didn't feel all too comfortable with the idea.

Ocelot gave a roll of his deep brown eyes, "C'mon. We're wasting time. We should be entering the far west wing by now, but of course we just have to be behind schedule because Sleeping Beauty had to take her nap." He then draped Ever's arm back over his shoulder and continued to drag her along next to him.

Ever glared at him, "I'm beginning to take back what I said. You aren't even _trying_ to be nice to me!"

"Go tell your mommy."

The further they went, the more it looked like a haunted laboratory maze rather than that of a hospital. Large bullet proof glass windows gave view to rooms that were home to ransacked papers and spilled chemical vials. More crimson stained the walls, some splatters fresher than others. Some of the rooms were a grave to multiple limp and lifeless bodies all battered and torn like a used dog toy. "Level 1 bio organic research floor. Most of these doors lead to rooms that were used only to fathom and observe bacteria from the virus. Even a floor with a simple role such as this gets penetrated by monsters."

"I woke up on this floor," Ever said absent mindedly. "On the… east wing?"

"They probably were observing the virus in you, getting in as much detail as they can before they relocate you to the lower floors." Ocelot blinked at her, "And from the looks of it, they ought to have moved ya soon if you hadn't awakened so early. And," he swept his hand around him at the large carcass filled rooms. "If everyone wasn't dead."

"Another outbreak," Ever sighed.

"Not entirely," Ocelot replied.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't think that they wouldn't learn from Umbrella's mistake?"

Ever stared incredulously at him. "Um, _hello_! Didn't you see that thing that was attacking me back there? I'm pretty sure it wasn't caged."

"No, it wasn't. But this is yet another project of theirs." Ocelot let that sink in. Ever just couldn't begin to understand. Another project? How was Ocelot so certain, and what clues gave this odd piece of information away? "And that monster you fought: it's called a Licker. Highly dangerous and potentially intelligent bio organic weapons, or B. for short. I advise you to stay clear of them as much as you can before they hear you."

"They have ears?"

"Tiny yet acute ear holes. They also go by their sense of touch, which is just as subtle."

"How do you know so much about this?"

Ocelot set his jaw, mulling something over. Ever waited patiently for his response, which in fact never came. She just let out a sigh and bowed her head in defeat. Ocelot, she could tell, is going to be a hard case to work with.

Then, something viciously attacked her nostrils. A scent so strong that she slipped from Ocelot's grasp and sank to the floor. It reawakened a pain in her head and stomach, which made her clench her teeth and grind them almost to dust. Her mouth watered, and goose bumps traveled along her spine.

"Ever?"

His voice… Ever couldn't help but feel violent again. His voice just angered her; too perfect for a build like him. It annoyed her for some reason. She felt a sharp yet dull pain in her pinky fingers, which added to her anger. _Stupid pain_, she thought. _Stupid pain. Stupid agent. Stupid Umbrella._

"Ever, are you alright? Are you mutating? Can you hear me?"

Everlyn cringed, _Loud and fucking clear!_ Which indeed, was correct. His voice became nails on a chalkboard to her. It aggrieved her head even more, and made her ears roar to block out the volume. _Just eat,_ she thought. _Pain will go away. Just eat._

And so she followed the heavy aroma that had fancied her scent glands. She didn't know where exactly she was heading as she made all kinds of twists and turns through various corridors and halls. Footsteps behind her announced that Ocelot was following rather rapidly, as if she was running and he was struggling to keep up. Was she running? She couldn't entirely tell for certain. It seemed as if she was floating on clouds, her limbs and body numb except for her sniffing nose. "Ever, where the hell are you going?" She ignored him. Her stomach weighed heavy with agonizing discomfort as her hunger grew wilder and wilder the closer she drew herself to the source of the scent that Ocelot clearly could not smell. Almost there, now. Not too much longer….

She found it. The room that housed the warm, delicious scents. She found herself crouching and crawling towards what appeared to be a meat bowl. The scent smelled fresh enough, and was warm in her belly as she scooped a mouthful of it into her mouth and swallowed. She shivered, before showing off a fanged grin. It was like a home cooked meal to her, obviously the first thing she has eaten in ages. She was lifting another mouthful to her lips when she heard a loud and raspy hiss.

Reality seemed to slap at her, making her realize where exactly she was and what the hell she was doing. She stared down at the meat in her hands, horrified to find that it was that of raw muscle, bloody and warm from the _human_ carcass that was sprawled before her. His chest was ripped open, revealing glistening rib bones and spilled innards. His dead glossy gaze rested upon her accusingly.

Ever gasped and dropped the slab of meat before backing away. Sweeping her icy blues around the room, she found that not one foot of this room was unoccupied by Lickers. "Oh my God—"

"Ever!" Ocelot panted as he finally caught up with her. However he abruptly shut his mouth as he noticed the room fully inhabited by the monsters. They all crowded around Ever, leaving a path from Ocelot to the young woman. Some snapped their heads blindly in the direction of Ocelot, indicating that they had heard him, though was not certain if a living organism was indeed standing there among their ranks.

Meanwhile Ever couldn't take her eyes off of them. They all appeared strong, healthy, and muscular to her. She couldn't help but once again feel impressed, not afraid. She found herself observing all of them carefully, as if picking out which puppy was her favorite at a pet store. And she was surrounded by so many of them, all around her: above her, beside her, in front of her, and all were just standing or sitting or crawling around her doing nothing.

"Ever," Ocelot whispered harshly. "Get out of there!" He once again fell silent as a nearby Licker stepped toward him curiously, letting out a threatening hiss.

One Licker crawled slowly towards Ever, observably aware of her presence. She watched it approach, relatively calm despite the high danger that she was aware that she was in. She watched as its tongue slithered out of its mashing fanged hole of a mouth. The tip of it pressed against her shoulder, making her flinched as the razor like muscle pricked at her skin. It then moved its tongue to her blood-dried neck, earning a small whimper of pain, which no doubt made it tense and alert. It let out a loud hiss, alerting the others nearby and drawing them closer to Ever. One bunched its muscles, ready to spring.

"Ever!"

The entire room, once filled with hisses, clicking of claws, and snarls, fell silent. Then, it exploded with leaping Lickers. Ever yelped as one sprang, its back claws catching the back of her head, which made her fall to the floor. She let out a hiss, though it merely went unnoticed as most of the attention was fixed upon Ocelot.

Ever sprang up with them, desperate to save her only guide to the way out of this hellish place. She jumped up and dug her claws into a Licker's side, bringing it crashing down to the ground with her. It twisted in a literal blind rage before whipping out its lance of a tongue. The muscle cut her cheek, summoning blood. Snarling, she raked her claws across its face which earned her a shriek of pain. However she joined in the shrieking when needle sharp claws dug into her shoulder. She twisted around and bit her attacker's hand, making blood quirt out. Her original Licker wrapped its tongue around her leg and pulled, tripping her. Then, both monsters tackled her, lashing out with their claws and fangs. Summoning all the strength she could, she heaved herself up and fell backwards, trapping the Lickers under her. She then twisted herself about, using her claws to slit the throats of the skinless creatures.

Rapid gunfire sounded through the air alerting more and more Lickers to their presence. Ever sailed as fast as she could towards the entrance to the room. She found Ocelot backed in a corner absolutely surrounded by advancing Lickers. Letting out a bestial snarl, she jumped to the nearest Licker and began lashing at its body. More shots sounded out, killing a few more Lickers though it barely dented their overall population. Ever tried not to let herself get too jarred from the sudden sounds as she tried focusing on her own kills instead.

A grenade was thrown blasting several Lickers back and assassinating them as well as taking out part of the room's walls. This had aided them greatly in their battle, though unfortunately there were many more monsters to fight.

Ever clawed at her monstrous victims, raking them down anywhere she could reach. The Licker of whom she was dealing with at the moment reached for and grabbed her wrists, struggling to push her and pin her down. Ever growled, yet another sound that should not have belonged to her, and leaned forward to bite at the Licker's neck. Its tongue lashed out, cutting the back of her head and shoulders. It wrapped around her waist in an attempt to pull her off. But as it pulled her away, her fanged grip also pulled on its neck. It managed to successfully pry her off, but upon doing so lost its life due to the hunk of vital throat missing.

The Licker numbers began to dwindle, as was the amount of Ocelot's ammunition. However, they seemed to fare well overall. Ever kept slashing and biting; Ocelot kept shooting and combating. They made up for, if not an odd one, excellent army of two. When the last Licker was shot through the chest, and was given the killing blow by the blond survivor, they both leaned back and let out an exasperated sigh; injured, sore, tired, yet relieved.

"What. The fuck. Was that Ever?" Ocelot said after managing to catch a few breaths. "Why'd you go off like that?"

"I was hungry," Ever said quietly. It was a horrible excuse.

"Hungry?!" Ocelot stormed over to her and slammed her against the wall, pointing his pistol under her jaw. "You could have cost us both of our lives! If you're so hungry, then eat lead you monstrous freak!" He jabbed the gun roughly into her.

"You didn't have to follow me," she growled. "I never asked for a babysitter. And you certainly didn't have to yell my name!" She then smirked. "Or does it feel too good on your tongue to let me go?" She silently chuckled in satisfaction, convinced that the comment would jar a good reaction out of him, but was met with a cold emotionless stare.

"It's my job to rescue fuckasses like you," he said aloofly. "Therefore it is my job to protect you and move to from Location A to Location B. But in doing so you will have to listen to me, and definitely not go off on a hunger spree risking our asses!"

"I couldn't control myself," Ever spat. "You try being host to a virus, or whatever the fuck is wrong with me! You can't control the pain, the numbing instincts!"

"If that's the case, then you are too far gone." He stepped back and aimed the pistol directly at her forehead. "We don't welcome Class D2 to E survivors, which are hardly survivors at all."

She heard the click of the switch, and shut her eyes tightly. _So this is it. This is how I end._

A loud shriek echoed down the halls. Ever peeped open her eyes inquisitively, wondering if Ocelot had shot something else instead. She didn't recall hearing a loud gunshot. But he just stood there with an unreadable look on his face. Though it was a different expression than the one he had not even a minute ago, it was still clouded. But she could see the concern and alertness in his brown eyes.

Loud clicking noises sounded above them. They both looked up in time to see a massive greenish-grey looking creature scale noisily towards them. It then jumped down from the ceiling, landing on all four of its heavily clawed feet. It looked like a giant Licker, only of a different variation. Instead of shiny pink and skinless muscle, it appeared to have a sturdier epidermis of a darker pale complexion. Bony ridges poked from its back like great pointed ocean stones. Its fore claws looked more like enormous bone scythes, a big contrast from the hand like formations of the genuine Licker. Its protruding brain was grey—dried and cold, yet warm and lively, toughened from the outside atmosphere hitting against the organ. Its gaping lipless mouth was home to long mashing fangs that came to a razor point tip. Its tongue, grey also like the tone of its brain, was laced with bones rather than muscly needle barbs. It let out a long droning snarl.

"Shit," Ocelot cursed under his breath.

Everlyn only shook her head and began to take steps back, retreating. _We can't fight this,_ she thought.

The monster took a step forward.

"Run," she choked out.

The more "evolved" Licker twisted its head, its tongue dancing out like ribbon that moved in tune to its rattling hiss. It took another step forward.

"Run!" she repeated, grabbing Ocelot's arm and dragging him away. The Evolved Licker began to give chase, seeming not to care how loud and deafening it was as it pursued them.

Ever's mind was in a state of frenzy. _We're in deep shit. Deep, deep, shit!_


	5. Chapter Four

_**Chapter Four**_

Ever's heart pounded against her chest. Her blood roared in her ears. Her mind was frantic and clouded with the desperation for escape. She let her legs guide her once again. She barely even recognized them moving; barely registered them other than the hard slaps of bare foot and the thuds of boots on the cold marble floors. Though unlike last time, it was not hunger that drove her forward and made her drag Ocelot behind her; instead, it was fear.

She heard the beast hiss behind her. They couldn't possibly outrun this creature. It was much larger and had longer limbs than its basic stage, and no doubt the speed increased as did its deadly artillery of barbed tongue muscle. It was gaining on them fast, its claws making indentations and holes in the ceiling. It would not be long now before they fall prey to its gaping fanged mouth. She choked back a whimper, and bit her tongue. Now was not the time to break down. After everything so far that she had been through – the isolated room, the lone Licker, the hoard—she still had more challenges to face, she was sure, and couldn't afford to deliberately break down.

She spotted heavy double doors up ahead, and dashed for them, her grip unceasingly tight on Ocelot's arm. She hastily opened one of the doors with the other hand and threw him inside. After making sure he was in, Ever glanced back to check the distance between them and the evolved BOW. It had paused in the middle of the ceiling to show off its long grey tongue. It then bunched its muscles, ready to spring. Ever abruptly followed Ocelot in and closed the door behind her, barricading it with a nearby table and desk. There was a loud THUD as the monster threw itself at the doors, though thankfully it did not gain entrance.

"I don't think I have enough ammo to kill that thing," Ocelot panted, checking his inventory and stock. "Most of it was used disposing the hoard."

Ever stood against the wall, her hot bloodied back pressed against the cool surface. Her injuries stung like hell, but she knew she'd manage. She'd have to. She flinched with every thud and scrape against the double doors made by that monster. They couldn't stay like this. All Ever did was provide them time to beg for their lives rather than an opportunity to escape; this room lead to nowhere. She doubt that either of them had the strength left in themselves to fight that thing.

"There has to be something we can use. Something that could bait it off."

"Bait it off?" Ever shook her head. "Jesus Ocelot we're trapped in a lab room! There's nothing in here to bait it off!"

"No corpses?"

"Do you see any?" She swept her hand around the room, even though she herself didn't even both to check if there were indeed any dead persons in the room. "The one room I drag us into and it doesn't even have a corpse!"

The doors were beginning to bend inward. They didn't have much time. The table and desk won't hold the nightmare back.

_We're done for! _Ever slid to the floor. She wished that she had never woken up on that white table back in the east wing.

Then, the banging and the attempts of forced entry stopped. The doors no longer were being hammered inward. The table and desk no longer were being pushed aside like leaves. Ever stared curiously at the doors before looking over at Ocelot. "It can't be gone," she said to him. "It can't just vanish."

Ocelot, however, busied himself with the research on the remaining counters and desks. He picked up papers, documents, files, glass vials, and other likes. He picked up what appeared to be a card key, or some type of ID card. He glanced at Ever, who quizzically blinked up at him wondering what exactly he was doing. Ocelot walked over to a nearby computer and scanned the card, automatically logging on. A voice pinged; "Welcome, Stan Paton."

Ever hissed, "Now's not the time to be playing computer games, Ocelot!"

"Bite me, sweetie."

Rolling her eyes, she swiftly strode over and peered over his shoulder at the screen. It appeared that he was trying to access some sort of mainframe. All sorts of codes, written in green on a field of black, flashed at them. Ocelot's fingers moved quickly, and the sound of pattering fingers on keyboard keys filled the room as the two looked on in silence. Then, the screen opened up to two different windows. He minimized one and turned it into a mini window, as he worked his magic on the second window- another coding screen.

"What are you doing?" She asked him finally. In the miniaturized window, she saw it sectioned off into four different squares. Two was of a couple different hallways, one was of a different lab room, and the last was of the hallway just outside of those doors. She saw the massive Evolved Licker waiting patiently above the door, trying to fool and coax its prey out.

"Buying us more time," Ocelot answered. "I may not be a technology genius like Phantom, but I know how to hack."

Before Ever could ask who exactly "Phantom" is, there was a loud metal sheet-against-sheet sound. She snapped her head in the direction of the double doors. A thicker metal shield covered the inside, blocking them from getting out and the Evolved Licker from getting in.

"Hacking into the room's security system," Ever said approvingly. "Nice. Though what harm does this room do to deserve such a defense?"

"As we travel more into the facility," Ocelot began, typing away still. "The more advanced the research becomes. This is the sample room. Belongs to floor one, but this room marks the end of it and the beginning of floor two, which is below us currently. "This room takes small samples of their test subjects' DNA and 'potential' viruses planted in the victim." He pulled up another window and showed her the multiple files of research that undergoes in this room. Small samples, yes, but they all add up to something big.

"Genetrix-R Project?" Ever murmured, reading out loud one of the files' names. Something about it got to her.

Ocelot opened the file. They were met with pictures of various forms of viruses –the T-Virus, G-Virus, C-, T-Veronica, and others. Scrolling down, various graphs and diagrams were displayed. Ever seemed to take interest in this, for an unknown reason. Was it because she's an experiment, too, and learning about this may unlock things about her? Perhaps she just had a fascination with genetics and its entailed research. Either or, she was rather disappointed that Ocelot would not scroll down slow enough for her to read the words.

"We're not here to check out books at the library," Ocelot reminded, though Ever could not tell for sure whether it was to remind her, himself, or perhaps both. "As long as that shield is up, we have a little bit more time to think of a way out before that thing gets too impatient with us and starts breaking down doors again."

Ever growled in frustration, "How are you so calm about this?" Shaking her head, she slapped her palm against the counter. "We're trapped in a room, Ocelot, with a giant monster waiting outside for us. You're in the most danger, considering you're stuck in a room with me!"

"I signed myself up for a suicide mission, kiddo. Believe it or not, I'm just as scared as you. But no agent would ever admit that, would they?" Ocelot rose himself up from the desk.

"Oh, yes. Please excuse me I forgot that it was in your code to be stubborn hard asses."

"All in a day's work, kid."

Loud banging picked up outside of the shielded double doors. Squeaking of bending metal and the pops of unscrewed nails marked the end of the Evolved Licker's patience duration. Ever knew that when it finally tears those doors away, it would only be a matter of minutes before it rips through the shield. She then frantically looked around the room once again for something they could use to bait it away, but alas it was a failed attempt.

Her eyes caught something that was of a metallic gleam. It was a dull gleam, but it was just enough to reflect some of the light from the ceiling. It was a venting grille, small and rectangular, but wide enough to fit a person. Or two.

"Ocelot," she gestured over to the wall. Her rescuer followed her signal, and immediately rushed over to the wall and started to work on the grate's removal. "Oh Ocelot, hurry!"

He used a pocket knife to unscrew the bolts, but dropped it as the sound of merciless claws against screaming metal echoed through the room. The Evolved Licker ripped off the double doors, and was now currently working on the metal shield. Resuming his work, bolts began to ping on the floor as slowly, one by one, falling carelessly to the ground. When the bolts were removed, he curled his fingers inside the grate and gave a heavy tug. Despite the removal of its captives, the grille did not budge. He tugged and pulled some more, cursing under his breath as he was witness to his failing progress.

"Let me," Everlyn grunted as she pushed him out of the way. Indentations were beginning to be noticed on the defense behind them. She hooked her fingers and claws in the grille holes and tugged. The grille did not move. She pulled on it, grunting and clenching her fangs from the painful strain that it had put on her muscles. Now growling, she pulled on it some more. And some more. And some more; finally, the grille slid. A few more heaves should do the trick. Panting, she pulled and pulled and tugged and tugged. She tried using as much of her "superhuman" strength that she could to open up the hatch for their escape. Her arms grew tired though and worn out. She could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears as her face flushed with color from the attempts. She looked to Ocelot for support, as she realized that even she could not lift this jammed piece of metal off the wall.

He came up behind her and laced his fingers in the grille holes just as he had done previously. With a curt nod from Ever, the two of them began pulling on the grate together. Loud grunts and pants added to the snarls and growls and the shredding of metal behind them. However, the grate moved some more, and slid downwards just a tiny bit. Eventually it gave way and popped off, sending the two falling backwards upon their rear ends.

Ever gave a sigh of relief as Ocelot helped her up. He lifted her and aided her into the venting shaft. She slid in with ease, being the small and frail form that she is. She then reached out to pull Ocelot in.

Just at that moment, however, the metal barrier broke, and in came the massive muscle monster. Ever froze, tensed, and stared at the creature wide-eyed. They had no time now. No time at all.

She reached down once again for Ocelot. She gripped onto his arms forcefully and tried to hoist him up. Her arms felt like noodles after spending her strength on the grille. She could barely lift him off the ground. "Climb on the wall," she hissed at him, grunting as she continued to spend her strength. The clicking of claws on the floor told her that the Licker was advancing.

And then it struck.

Ocelot was snatched and thrown back. With a startled and pained yell, he was sent flying into the far wall. Blood smeared on the Licker's lips, though Ever could tell by the scent and faintness that what Ocelot received wasn't too bad of an injury. The Evolved Licker hissed, lashing its tongue out and wrapping it around Ocelot's leg. It lifted him up and into the air, hanging upside down. Ocelot grabbed for one of his guns and shot at the monster. The bullets hit it, even went through it, but they did not seem to daze or harm it too much.

Ever then jumped out of the air shaft. She leaped onto the Licker's back and hung onto its neck. It thrashed about, trying to shake her off, making its tongue wave madly like a flag caught in a harsh breeze. Ever winced at the thought of an Ocelot-shake.

"Ever!" Ocelot called to her, sounding a little sick sounding after that roller coaster ride. "Just leave! Get out of here!"

_Worried about my safety?_ She thought, almost a bit bitterly. _Or worried about your paycheck?_

She decided not to obey his command and started lashing at the Evolved Licker with her claws. Blood spurted out of its wounds, but barely dinted it. It managed to shake her off, and drop Ocelot in the making. Ocelot hurried to a safer position before pulling out some healing supplies for himself. Ever watched as he injected something into his arm, but couldn't pay close enough attention to see what it was. She was more focused on attacking her enemy, which was right now currently trying to smash her to pieces.

Her movements were swift, speedy; she was able to dodge its slamming fist-scythes easily. Every time the arm landed she would claw at it before it drew back. She dodged its lance like tongue, too, though that was a bit harder to do due to its flexibility.

The monster then heaved itself at her, knocking her down against the wall and floor, pinning her. Ever hissed, flailing her arms and legs to grab a hold of something or to possibly somehow do damage to her target. The Evolved Licker shot its tongue out of its gaping hole of a mouth, piercing her shoulder. Ever cried out in agony. Blood dripped to the floor in deep scarlet puddles. The monster wriggled its grey bone-barbed tongue around inside of her casualty. Her stomach churned as she was able to feel every twitch and spasm of the massive muscle in both the outside and the inside of her body. She could hear more blood fall to the floor.

_It hurts_, she gasped in pain. _How is this not Hell?_

Her mind clouded, and she was unable to think straight. Most of her conscious was focused on her impalement, and the hot rotted breath of her attacker. She clawed absentmindedly at the side of its face, but the good it had done might as well been the equivalent to getting a splinter in a place full of nothing but feathers. Impossible goodness. Impossible chances of over throwing this beast and surviving.

There was a gunshot, through denser sounding than what she was familiar with hearing. She felt blood splatter against her eyes, molding them shut as of that moment. She felt the tongue abruptly leave her shoulder, and she gasped out. Holding her wound, she slumped back further against the wall. She felt her essence pool into her hand as she rasped for breath through her discharging of tears.

Another gunshot. Isn't that how her rescues were organized now? One gunshot after the other? She managed to slowly wipe the blood away from her eyes. She saw a crappy bandaged up Ocelot wielding one of his guns and shelling the Evolved Licker. The monster reeled back on its hind legs, revealing a huge thumping heart on its chest. While the Licker waved its arms in agony, and whipping its tongue about desperately, Ever formed an idea.

Just as the Licker was about to go back down on its fours, Everlyn jumped. She slammed herself into the Licker's chest, causing a world of pain on her injured shoulder. For a moment, as they fell backwards together, her vision fuzzed to black. She could see nothing but stars as her injured shoulder throbbed. She hissed as the Licker began squirming. She scratched at it, blindly, trying to find its heart. When her vision cleared, she narrowed her eyes and raked her claws all the way down from its chin to its heart. It writhed and screamed in suffering as its scarlet blood pooled in its own wounds. "How does that feel?" she growled to it.

She then lifted her head back, opened her mouth wide, and slammed her fangs into the heart. Saliva dripped down the muscle as she felt its thumping form slow in her mouth. Blood exploded into her mouth and slipped down her throat. It even dribbled down her chin. The Licker's spasm also slowed. Then five total gunshots were sounded. Grey brain matter was sent flying onto the walls and ceiling, and dripping onto the floor. It wasn't long before the Evolved Licker was completely drained of life. Its body rapidly grew cold under her touch.

Rather than crawling or even sliding off of the creature, Everlyn fell. She felt too weak. Though the consumption of the Licker's blood renewed her energy only a little, it was not enough to make her keep going. She needed rest. She needed more sleep.

"You can't go back to sleep now, Princess," Ocelot sighed. His bandages were already bled through, but Everlyn knew he would manage. He didn't smell too hurt. He bent down beside her and picked her up in his arms.

"I… I don't feel so good…." Everlyn clenched her eyes shut. She felt all kinds of pressure growing inside of her. Her mind clouded so much to the point where it was a splitting head ache. Her jaw ached, as if it was being pulled off by one of those Lickers. Her chest felt heavy, her heart racing and pounding in her ears. Her limbs throbbed as if they were undergoing severe growing pains. Not to mention her shoulder. Her shoulder was a bloody mess, and her losing of blood wasn't going to necessarily end anytime soon. It took almost all of her will to not cry out and to mask her pain from Ocelot.

She heard him utter out a string of curses. "Damn it Ever," he sighed. "Why can't things ever be easy with you?" She felt herself being picked up by his strong arms. Assuring, though not quite, as the lifting made her head spin and ache even more. She knew from the direction he was walking in that they were headed for the big double doors.

"Where are we going now?" she croaked.

"Just stay awake, Princess."


End file.
